Page:History of the Royal Astronomical Society (1923).djvu/147

 50-60] ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 123 the main uneventful. The Medal in 1854 was awarded to Charles Rtimker for his astronomical observations in general, and for his Catalogue of twelve thousand stars in particular. In 1855 it was given to Dawes for his long-continued devotion to astronomy, his numerous contributions to the science and the excellence of his observations. The Presidential address on that occasion was a model of terseness and brevity and filled barely two pages of the Monthly Notices. All the addresses of this period were in fact much shorter than we have been accustomed to recently, and though it is doubtless often of great value to have a reasoned review of a man's work put before us, and such review, if it is to be complete, cannot be very short, it is nevertheless possible that the present generation might learn something of the art of condensation by studying the models set by their great predecessors. In 1855 the choice of the Council fell upon M. J. Johnson, the Radcliffe observer, and De Morgan yielded the secretaryship, which he had held so long, to De la Rue. Carrington from Durham, and W. Simms, of the famous firm of Troughton and Simms, took their seats at the Council table. In 1856 January the Council, which had become somewhat uneasy at the large number of Associates elected, appointed a Committee to consider the question and recommend whether any limitation should be imposed. In July the Committee made a long and careful report. It appeared that the number had risen from about 21, at which it stood in the early years of the Society's existence, to 56. The names were carefully scrutinised and it was found that no one had been appointed who did not reflect honour upon the Society and that, in general, the selection could not have been better done. The Committee, however, thought it would be desirable in future to have an understanding, not explicitly embodied in a Bye-law, that the number should be restricted to about 50. This was accepted by the Council and has remained a working principle since that date. Even with the enlarged astronomical developments of the present times the number appears to be sufficient to include everyone of real distinction, and it would be hard to find any instance of a foreign astronomer of high merit who has not been included in the list. It may be noted that the original idea of the qualifications and functions of an Associate differed in one important particular from our present conceptions. Now we look upon the election as an honour to a foreign astronomer, accorded him upon the sole basis of his services to astronomy. In the early years of the Society, and still persisting in 1856, it was held that an Associate should be recommended for election not only in recognition of his past achievements but also in hopes of his future services, and great stress was laid on the importance of selecting such men as could